Improvement in mode of treating flax, hemp, and other fibrous material



o'o o O O O O O O O O. O

N. PETERS, FHOTD-LIYHDGRAPIIER. WASHINGTON. D C.

N.PErERs, Prism-LITHOGRAPMER. WASHINGTON. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOI-IN TV. BURTON, OF EYE, AND GEORGE PYE, OF IPSVIOH, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN MODE 0F TREATING FLAX, HEMP, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIAL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 18,801, dated December S, 1857.

To all whom, it may concer/r Beit known that we, .Ici-[N WATsON BUR- TON, of Eye, in the county of Suffolk, and GEORGE PYE, of' Ipswich, in the same county, England, fiax manufacturers, subjects of the Queen of' Great Britain, have invented or discovered a new and useful Improvement in Treating Flax, Hemp, and other Fibrous Matters Requiring Like Treatment; and we, the said JOHN WATSON BURToN and GEORGE PYE, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be fully described and ascer tained in and by the following statement thereot-that is to say:

Our invention consists of treating the fibrous parts of flax, hemp, or other fibrous matter requiring like treatment (after being separated from the boon or woody matter, or without having first separated the woody matter or boon) by subjecting the same to the action of water impregnated Or combined with full` ers-earth and with steam, and then to boil the fibrous matters. During the process of boiling the fibers they are to be alternately closely pressed together and allowed to expand from time to time.

The above constitutes the nature of our invention. In addition to such process, and for the purpose of further improving the fibrous material, it may be subsequently treated as follows: The fluid having been drawn off, the

fiber is to be allowed to stand for atime under pressure and afterward to be subjected to the action of' a machine having pressing-rollers and crimping-rollers, the process finishing with pressing-rollers in order to remove the effect of crimping. rlhe surfaces of the rollers are, during such process of pressing and crimping, wiped by f'elts or cloths. The fiber is next to be hackledand spun. rllhis latter process of pressing and crimping by machinery may be beneficially applied to flax, hemp,

vation of machinery used for subjecting flax, hemp, and other fibrous matters to the action of fullers-earth in water, and for boiling such fibrous matters in water combined with fullers-earth. Eig. 2 is a vertical section of the apparatus or machinery. Fig. 3 shows ahorizontal section, the upper parts or gearing being removed. Besides the above the drawings also exhibit the machine in ground plan and longitudinal section.

.In each of these gures the same letters are used to indicate the same parts.

a a is a rectangular vessel, having a false perforated bottom at b, on which the flax, hemp, or other similar vegetable substance is to be placed, and between itand the follower c. This vessel is then filled up to the under side ofthe follower with water mixed with fullers-earth, such mixing being first made in a separate vessel, and the impurities 'being allowed to subside before the water impreg-V nated with the fullers earth is introduced into the vessel a. The quantity of fullersearth used may be varied; but we generally employ at the rate of about one pound to every five gallons of water.

d is a steam-pipe, by which free steam can be introduced into the lower part of the vessel a a.

The flax, hemp, or other similar vegetable matter is to be subjected to the treatment before mentioned-or, in other words, to being boiled and alternately pressed and allowed to expand until the epidermis is sufficiently softened and the coloring-matter or albumen extracted. During this process there may be a constant fiow `of fullersearth water admitted into the vessel a a, and a quantity run off` therefrom, and when it is found that the water flowing off does not show the presence of' eoloring-matter theA further supply and outgoing of the water are to be stopped and the fibers in the vessel a are to be boiled up in the liquid. The boiling is accomplished by admitting steam to fiow more freely into the lower part of' the vessel after stopping the flow of water into and from the vessel. During such boiling process the follower is caused to be raised and lowered by the gearing shown by the drawings, the nature of which will be readily un derstood by reference to the drawings, and

`therefore will not require further description.

When the matters in the vessel have been thoroughly boiled, therfluid is to be drawn off, the follower being pressed downward so as to compress the fibers until all the water has been expressed therefrom, and we retain the fibers subjected to pressure for some time-say four hours or more-after the water has been drawn off, the same being in order to mollify and partially dry the fibers. The steam used by us is from forty to sixty pounds on the square inch-in the boiler; but this may be varied.

Having thus described the process constituting our invention, we would remark that the fibers are now yin a state to be treated by the machinery, which we will now proceed to describe, or the fibers before being subjected to the action of such machinery may be dried and acted on in the dry state, and We would state that we iind that by reason of our having used fullers-earth Water the bers, though dry, will spin more freely than when they are dry after having been prepared by other processes.

Fig. 5 shows a plan, and Figs. 6 and 7 are side views, of a machine for pressing, crimping, and pressing fibers. f f are pressing-rollers, betweenwhich the moist iia'X, hemp, or other similar bers, after they have undergone the process above described, are to be run. g g are three pairs of crimping-rollers. More or less of these may be used; but we prefer three pairs. h h are two or more pressing-rollers to'take out the impressions of the crimping-rollers. The fibers are laid on an endless belt, k, and after being seized bythe rollers ff pass from thence to and between the moisten the surface of the upper pressingrollers. We would state that this process of pressing, crimping, and pressing by pairs of rollers is very-important, for by such means the iibers are better prepared for hackling than by any other process we are acquainted l with.

We do not claim merely heating or boiling fiber in water; but

What we claim as our invention is- The above-described inode of treating flax or fibrous matters `requiring like treatment, the same consisting in subjecting such, as described, t'o the action of a press and to water impregnated with fullers earth and heated or boiled.

JOHN WATSON BURTON. GEORGE PYE.

W'itnesses:

ALBERT W. CONNER, v Engineer, 23 SufoZ/t Street, Pall .Z1/fall, East Lonclon.

JOHN HAnRisoN, Notary Public, No. '2 George Yard, Lombard Street, London. 

